Unique Photo Mirrorless Cameras, DSLRs and 4K video – the next wave

In this video:
Matthew Sweetwood, President of Unique Photo, speaks with Vickie Siculiano about mirrorless cameras, DSLRs and 4K video, the next wave. He talks about how amazing photos can be captured with these new cameras, and can be singled out by frame when shooting in 4K video.

Full Interview with Matthew Sweetwood of Unique Photo can be viewed on the Say WOW Marketing YouTube Channel

Vickie: I’m so glad that you mentioned the mirrorless cameras, because I’m very, very interested in that. I have a DSLR so I have mirror technology. Big camera. No question.

Then you’ve got a great lens, maybe even a telephoto lens, even bigger. It’s not something that you can just throw in your bag and just head out the door. I know Rick Gerrityi does some great work with Lumix. Right? Why don’t you just tell me a little bit more about that, because I know some of our viewers are very interested in that.

Matthew: Right. Just to mention Rick, because you’ve mentioned Rick and Mike before. Mike Downey, our head instructor here. Rick Gerrity is also a full time instructor here. Rick Gerrity is also one of past Lumix Luminaries. They call them Lumix Luminaries because Lumix, they’re a branded camera. He goes all around the country and we’re actually lucky enough to have him teach for us too. Panasonic or the Lumix brand where they sell the cameras under, their cameras are all mirrorless.

In the camera that you have right there, there’s actually a mirror. It’s called the DSLR. Digital single lens reflects camera. The reflect comes from the mirror. If you take out the lens, which you don’t have to do right now, there’s a mirror behind there. We don’t have to … There’s a mirror behind there. The mirror is a mechanical device and it causes the camera to be larger.

Last two years, there’s been technology that’s been developed. It’s called mirrorless technology where the sensor is right behind the lens. The advantage of that system is that you are able to build a much compact camera. You don’t have as many mechanical parts in the camera. There’s no mirror. In fact, Panasonic just produced the GM1. It’s a camera I actually had on Fox News or I have on CBS a few months ago when they came out with it. It’s the smallest interchangeable lens camera made.

It’s about that big. It’s like a pack of cigarettes size. It takes their entire line of Lumix lenses. That camera takes close to DSLR quality, point you have a very sophisticated camera. It takes very high quality pictures and in fact, Panasonic is coming out with a camera called the GH4 which some are arguing might be the best camera in the world. It’s a mirrorless camera and it has Micro Four Thirds sensor which is a smaller sensor in it. That camera, that compact design is very good.

In terms of everyday use for the consumer, in my opinion probably a consumer in today’s world. Unless they are a very advance photographer really should go mirrorless. Compact size of the camera means that you’re more likely to have the camera with you. We know what the best camera is in the world. The best camera in the world is the camera that you have with you if you need to take a picture.

For somebody like you I would recommend obviously having multiple cameras. You’re moving towards what I call the professional range of photography and you definitely want to have a professional camera. If you’re just traveling around, hey, I’m taking the day with my husband and I’m looking into the city, you take a mirrorless camera. You throw it in your pocketbook, you’ll have a super high quality with a whole range of lenses available in order to take pictures. Those cameras are amazing. They’re fast.

Vickie: I will tell you something. I was actually taking a wedding photography course. It was on Creative Life, it was online. Okay. This course, the photography expert who was teaching the course was talking about this mirrorless cameras. He shoots I think with a 5D maybe. Like a Canon.

Matthew: That’s right. Of course. Yeah.

Vickie: He said, sometimes before the wedding when he wants to kind of get in and get some candid shots of stuff going on, he has a mirrorless camera, because it’s smaller and he can actually go in and nobody knows he’s a photographer. Nobody bother him.

Matthew: Right. That’s an extremely important aspect, okay? One of the things that photographers states, especially street photographers, people that do people photography, when you walk in with a 5D, and a 24 to 72A, which is a lens about that big and it’s about that big around. It weights whatever, 16 pounds. It’s crazy sharp. Then you have a flash, and you have a flash diffuser on the thing, it looks like you’re pointing some sort of raygun at something.

It’s extremely difficult for people to maintain natural. Even if they’re okay with their picture being taken, when you hold a device like that, many people don’t want or feel uncomfortable. They have self image issue. Everybody does. They don’t like to end so it creates an uncomfortable effect. A mirrorless camera, like that Gm1, I’d take portraits of that without people even knowing. As a result, you get this candid effect which you can’t get in a wedding. You know a wedding shots are like. People are always like, you know they said, you get these unnatural poses. The dreadful pictures.

It’s actually a very clever technique on his part, because he can walk around and sort of mingle. You know when you’re at a wedding, the photographers come, you always notice them off on the corner like, oh, is he going to come take a picture of me? The bald spot taken in the picture, whatever is going to happen, right? With that mirrorless camera, he can walk very discretely around and make people feel more comfortable as a result. Those cameras are amazing and are light. They have amazing speed.

Nikon just came out with a camera. I’m sorry, I should remember the phrase which the camera released. It’s crazy fast mirrorless camera. Shockingly fast camera. It’s about to come out. Nikon has a camera like that. These mirrorless cameras are really for everyday photography are really the way to go. As a matter of fact, going back to Panasonic and their Lumix camera, the GH4 is going to shoot 4k video in a mirrorless camera. That’s going to be a camera that’s this big. Small top. It’s a little bit bigger than some of the mirrorless cameras but still smaller than the camera that you have there. It could shoot 4k video.

Vickie: Tell me a little bit about that. The 4k.

Matthew: 4k video is the latest format in video. You’ve seen it. I’m sure people have seen it talked about. It’s been in the news. It’s the next step from HD video. From 1080p. It even gives a more realistic effect in than the failed 3D technology. It’s really quite amazing. I don’t want to get to the technical side. It’s not really important. For me, that 4k video actually will have a greater effect on still photography than it will on video. For people in the photography world, and the reason is that with 4k video, you can produce stills from 4k video. It’s something like 60 stills a second.

Each of those stills are 8 megapixels. For example, let me give you without sort of illustrating in pictures. Let’s say for example there’s a lightning storm, all you have to do is role the video and then you go back into the video and I promise you, you will find the bolts of lightning in one of the frames. You will have an 8 megapixels still of that. I have seen amazing effects of that. I have seen soccer matches where a person has captured the ball as it is at maximum completion as it strikes somebody in the face. You see the ball … because they’re able to video it and pull out a single frame.

That to me, this 4k video is going to be a really big revolution. You’re going to start to see it in more and more devices. Getting back to what you were saying, was it’s in these more compact cameras. Seeing 4k video in a mirrorless camera. My advice to be would be for the regular consumer mirrorless really at this point is the way to go. If you’re looking sort of to be an advance photographer, and you think that you’re going to do that in the future, maybe the traditional DSLR is good.

Then you’ll start to acquire DSLR lenses, because you have lens issues. You want to have lenses that works. If I am entry level, and I knew that really was just photography will just going to be fun for me. I would buy mirrorless. If I thought I was going to be a little more serious about it, I would then look at more systems a little bit more carefully.

Mirrorless Cameras, DSLR and 4K Video, oh my. Part 5 of my Interview with +Matt
Sweetwood, President of +Unique Photo . This is aa really interesting
segment and I learned alot about mirrorless technology – WOW!

Matt Sweetwood Commented on: April 10, 2014

Another great segment Vickie!

Vickie Siculiano Commented on: April 10, 2014

another great subject! I learn alot from you and I know my audience does, too – Episode #16 going live right now – stay tuned. 🙂

Kevin Russo Commented on: April 10, 2014

I've been to unique photo a few times, they have some really nice classes / seminars in their store. It's great to go to North Jersey and not have to deal with the headache that is New York. Matt is a really cool guy too.

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